


Red-headed Koreans

by Eienvine



Category: Selfie (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-28
Updated: 2014-10-28
Packaged: 2018-02-22 22:44:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2524409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eienvine/pseuds/Eienvine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's all Mr. Saperstein's fault that Henry's even considering this. Episode tag for "Nuggets of Wisdom."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red-headed Koreans

**Author's Note:**

> I thought Selfie needed a little more fanfic action, because guys, this show is amazing. Also I want "red-headed Koreans" to become the rallying cry of Henry/Eliza shippers everywhere.

It's Sam Saperstein's fault, really, if you think about it. Henry has thought about it, extensively, and he's decided that if not for his boss's prying, he would never have started considering the possibility. Not seriously, anyway. Not him and Eliza. Not like that.

Because until Mr. Saperstein brought it up, Henry never thought about Eliza that way . . . mostly. (Of course, saying this means ignoring that night when he rushed to the hospital and was so relieved to find her not more seriously hurt that he just started talking, and he still, to this day, has no idea what would have come out of his mouth if he hadn't been interrupted. He has a sneaking suspicion, though, that it would have been surprisingly personal—because he'd been so worried, obviously, and not for any other reason. He was interrupted, though, by Freddy of all people, and he can still remember the stab of feeling that coursed through him when he saw how happy Eliza was to see the man—irritation at being interrupted, obviously, and not for any other reason. Well, and maybe he was feeling just the tiniest bit protective of Eliza, who was at the moment physically weakened and potentially vulnerable and who was suddenly faced with her current boy toy who didn't have a great track record of showing a lot of concern for her. Yes, he supposes there was probably a bit of protectiveness there. And if sometimes he is surprised at just how protective of her he felt that night, that feeling is easily vanquished by focusing on something more important, like vitamins.)

Because him and Eliza? Crazy. Impossible. For one thing, there's the age gap; he's more than ten years her senior. And while that's not a deal breaker for him—his uncle Allen is fifteen years older than his aunt June, and he's seen how well they work together—he has a feeling it might be a deal breaker for Eliza, who never misses an opportunity to remind him how old he is.

And he's not her type. He's seen the three guys in the office that she's dated in the short time he's known her, and she definitely has a type: good-looking movie star sorts with broad shoulders and square jaws. Henry knows that he's not a bad-looking guy, but he's the sort who looks more at home in a library than on a football field ("slim" is the descriptor he prefers, as it feels a little nicer than "delicate," which is what his ever-helpful mother calls him). If Freddy and Troy and Miller are her type, then Henry is most definitely not. Not to mention, he sometimes thinks with an acrid taste rising in the back of his throat, he doesn't think he's her type personality-wise either, as she seems to go for guys who use her for sex with little regard for her feelings. She might feel that it's simply the way her generation thinks about sex, but he couldn't do that, no matter how old-fashioned that makes him look.

And to be honest, she's not his type either. She's gorgeous, of course—no one who's seen her could think otherwise—but he has a tendency to date women who have their minds on more intellectual pursuits. He likes relationships where he can mention Sartre or Lacan and receive more in return than a blank stare. Eliza is not unintelligent, certainly, but she decided long ago that men don't like smart women and has been adjusting her behavior accordingly ever since.

So dating Eliza? Not even a possibility, and the idea has barely ever crossed his mind until that meeting when Saperstein pulls him aside after his and Eliza's presentation.

"You two really are quite the power couple," his boss says.

There's a moment of silence while Henry tries to process what his boss has just said. "Oh no, sir, we're just—"

"Perfect together," Saperstein finishes in that way of his that brooks no argument. "You really are. Can you imagine how exquisite the offspring?"

And that idea is absurd enough to jar him from his surprise. "Oh, I imagine they'd be quite ugly, sir," Henry says firmly. "Red-headed Koreans . . . not a good look."

But Eliza chooses that moment to look up at him, and his breathing changes. And it's not just that talking about her hair has made him suddenly notice the way it falls across her face, reminding him that his friend and co-worker is a stunning woman. No, it's the look she gives him, a soft smile that says she's genuinely content in this moment, a smile that reaches across the crowded room to draw him into her happiness. It's a look that makes him forget, for a moment, that there is anyone else in the room, and he likes it. He likes this feeling of him and Eliza against the world.

And he wonders if maybe a red-headed Korean isn't the worst idea in the world, and he amends his earlier statement: "Typically."


End file.
